| Carol Stocker - Actually the last month was an ideal time to plant shrubs that lose their leaves, since they are dormant. However, if you've planted evergreens in the last month, they may need a little more coddling to make it through their first winter. The most important thing is to make sure newly planted everygreens, especially broadleaf evergreens such as rhododendrons, boxwood and pieris, get plenty of water to store in their leaves befor the ground freezes after Christmas. The second thing you can do is spray broadleaf evergreens with an anti-dissicant to prevent winter winds from sucking that moisture out of their leaves. You see, evergreens never go dormant, unlike deciduous shrubs. But if they are in the wind, it can steal water from their leaves which they cannot replace with ground water after the ground has frozen. This is why broadleaf evergreens (but not needle evergreens) are sometimes wrapped with Burlap from late December through early March. If you use burlap, which will also protect evergreens from foraging deer in the winter, think of your shrub as a Tootsie Roll lillipop. Cover all green leaves, preferably with a single large square of burlap. Gather the ends of the burlap at the trunk under the branches and wrap a piece of rope around the trunk and the ends.
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